Water shutoffs and
enforcement of adjudication
will continue. A Klamath
County judge today denied
requests to stop the
enforcement of
first-in-time,
first-in-right water law.
Judge Cameron Wogan Issued his decision on two of four requests for stay — requests to stop enforcement of water shutoffs in the upper Klamath Basin. He denied the two because if allowed, they would have superseded the senior claims by the Klamath Tribes and Klamath Project irrigators.
A third request is still
in limbo. If a stay were
granted, those asking
for the stay would have
to pay damages resulting
from the water law not
being enforced. Wogan
asked the attorney in
the third case if his
clients still want to
pursue a stay even if
the bond amount could
not be capped. If a stay
happened, it could last
five to 10 years while
adjudication is
concluded in circuit
court, Wogan's letter
said.
Wogan did not make a
ruling on a fourth case,
as it still needs to
file briefs and have
oral arguments on July
24.
The judge's statement is
available at
http://courts.oregon.gov/Klamath/docs/resources/Decision_Stays71513.pdf
More on this
story in Wednesday's
print and online
editions of the Herald
and News.